Device for forming round corners on book covers



Nov. 24, 1931. .1. w. ANTHONY 1,333,702

' DEVICE FOR FORMING ROUND CORNERS ON BOOK COVERS Filed Feb. 29, 1928 Patented Nov. 24, 1931 JOSEPH W. ANTHONY, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS DEVICE non mamas Roi'nvn CORNERS 01v BOOK CovERs Application filed February29, 1928. Serial No. 258,018.

This invention relates to a novel method and device for folding'over material at the corners'and forming the round corners of 7 book covers or similar articles. 7 A book cover usually comprises a fiatsheet of'cover material of suitable dimensions having usually two lining sheets attached as cemented thereto and inset from the margins of thecover sheet to expose a continuous 10 margin "of cover material that is adapted to be folded over upon the lining sheets to finish the edge of the book cover. In many instances the corners of the book are curved b or round. Heretofore considerable difficulty has been experienced in folding over the'cover material to form theround corners since there is an excess of material thereat which must be gathered into uniform pleats ,or folds and pressed down'upon the body of the cover'to cause them to lie flat and-uniform as otherwise the round corner will be unsightly and irregular.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a wiper for folding over the '25 cover material at the round corner, the wiper being so shaped as to engage the loose margin of the cover material at the corner and gather it in uni form'pleats and draw the material tightly over the corner and present a smooth 3o'flat lower face against which the gathered material is pressed to flatten the pleats and cause them to adhere to the body of the cover. I I

J A further object of the invention is the provision of a round corner-wiper having a'notched working face and a smooth flat bottom face, the side walls of the'wiper at the notched working face subtending between them an angle which is substantially less 40 than the'angle subtended between. the sides of the book cover at the round corner.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a round corner wiper as above set forth characterized by having a notched working face which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly so that the material-at the round corner can overlie such face and permit the lowermost portion of the upstanding mateto rial,iwhioh is nearest the edge 'ofthe cover,

the folded material of the corner against to be engaged by the wiper and drawn over the corner.

A further object of the invention isgenerally to improve upon folding devices and methods.

Fig. l is a partial plan detail of the foldingelements of afolding machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail of the elements at the round corner with the side wipers in advanced position and with the corner wiper embodying the invention in position to fold over the round corner.

Fig. 8 is a section along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the corner wiper in partially operated position.

Fig. 5 is a section along line 55 of Fig. 4 showing the material at the corner completely folded over but prior to the retraction of the forming plates.

Fig. 6 is a detail similar to Fig. 5 but with the forming plates retracted and elevated and with the work-supporting table pressing 761 the under face of the corner wiper.

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of the wiper.

Fig. 8. is a perspective sectional detail through the wiper of- Fig. 7 and illustrating particularly the rounded lower folding edge of the notch of the wiper. I V

Fig. 9 is a plandetail of the folded book cover and the folded round corner thereof made in accordance with the wiper herein shown. v

The corner wiper embodying the invention is here shown as applied to the folding elements of the folding machii'ieillu'stra'ted in my Patent No. 1,657,911, dated January 31, 1 928. In the figures, the essential features of the folding elements and associated parts necessary for an understanding of the invention are illustrated. The operating mechanism for the folding elements and other structuraldetails'can be as-sho'w n in my above 96 patent but are omitted herein as being unnecessary for an understanding of the present invention.

The folding elements here shown include a presser head 10, a work-supporting table 100 12 which is disposed beneath the head and has depending posts ll by which the table is supported by means not herein shown for vertical movement beneath the presser head and is urged upwardly by means of helical springs 16 which surround the posts 14 and bear against the table. Thepresser head and table operate within die bars 18 and 20 which enclose a rectangular folding space into which the flat cover blank is adapted to be forced to turn up the margins thereof into a position wherein the margins can be wiped or folded over the body'of the cover blank. The presser head carries four forming plates 22 which define a'continuous rectangular folded edge of the material and overlap in the middle of the straight sides of the line of fold. The forming plates are movable diagonally outward or toward the corners of the material to define the line of fold.

The margin of the cover material is adapted to be foldedover the extended forming plates, which are then retracted from under the folded margin and the folded margin is pressed down upon the body of the cover- The margins of the cover are folded or wiped over the forming plates by side wipers 24 all of which are adapted to be moved inwardly and over the extended forming plates at the same time. Corner wipers comprising fiat bars 26 are slidably supported 7 between the side wipers and are diagonally disposed with respect thereto, and are adapted to be moved inwardly over the round corners 27, Fig. 2, of the extended forming plates to wipe the corner material of the book cover thereover. V

The book cover comprises a rectangular blank offlexible material'a which may be of leather, or artificial leather, or other well known or desirable material, which has less flexible lining blanks b'attached, as cemented, thereto and inset from the edge of the cover material. The cover blank is greater in all dimensions than the die space 28 formed by the inner faces of'the die bars 18 and 20 so that a continuous margin 0 of the cover material is adapted to overlie said bars and the side wipers 24 when the cover blank is disposed in proper position on the work supportingtable 12 and beneath the presser head 10. As the presser head 10 is caused to descend below the plane of the wipers and the tops of the'die bars 18 and 20 with the forming plates 22 extended, the marginal edge 0 of the cover blank is forced upwardly in front .of the wipers so that the margin can be pushed or wiped tightly over. the extended forming plates in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and'3. The marginal material 0 at the corners is left free andis caused to upstand above the forming plates and outwardly therefrom in about the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. v

It will be appreciated that there is excess material at the round corner which must be gathered in the folded over and pressed down upon the cover blank in a smooth, regular and uniform manner in order to prevent an unsightly appearance at the corner and furthermore it is desirable that all corners should have about the same appearance. This invention relates to a very simple wiper for folding over the material at the corner in a very satisfactory manner.

, In accordance with this invention, the corner-wipers 26 are so shaped at their forward or working ends that the material at the corners is caused to be wiped tightly over the extended forming plates and excess material gathered together in small and uniform pleatsand caused to be pressed down upon and attached to the cemented margin of the book cover. To this end, each corner wiper is provided with a V-shaped notch 32 in its forwardend whichextends longitudinally of the corner wiper and in the medialline of the round corner. The side edges 34 of the wiper at the bottom of the notch are rounded OH to prevent the cutting of the material asis best shown in Fig. 8 and are straight and convergent and are joined by an arcuate face 36 which may be of any suitably small radius and is much less than the radius of the curve of the round corner of the book cover. The curve at the apex of the notch need only be sufficiently large to prevent the cutting of the cover material. The angle subtended between the side edges 34 is not greater than the angle between the straight sides of the corner or, as here shown, is not greater than 90; Preferably, the angle is less than the angle between the straight sides of the book cover or is less than 90. The marginal material 0 at the corner of the book cover, with the side margins folded over, usually stands upwardly and outwardly away from the corner of the forming plate, or overhangs the corner wiper, as shown in Fig. 3. It 7 has been found, that, if the notched working faces of the corner wiper are vertical, the upper part of the upstanding marginal material at the corner would be engaged first by the inwardly moving corner wiper so that the material at the corner would be moved downwardly to form a loose bulge at the corner rather than be wiped tightly over the extended forming plate. Consequently, the top face of tht corner wiper'is relieved, or the sides 38 of the bottom edges 34 of the notch are inclined upwardly away from these edges and rearwardly, as illustrated in the figures. 'The angle ofinclination preferably is greated than the outward slope of the upstanding marginal material 0 so that the margin is engagedvfirst by the lower edges 34 of the corner wiper just above the extended form ing plate whereby the loose material can be ing plate.

wiped or drawn tightly over the extended forming plate.

When the corner wiper is moved inwardly over the extended forming plate in the manner shown in Figs. 2 through 5, the upstanding material at the corner of the cover is received within the notch 82 of the corner wiper. As the corner wiper is moved forwardly over the extended forming plate, the side edges 34 of the notch engage the upstanding cover material immediately above the forming plate and wipe it over the form- Since the edges 34 are inclined toward each other at an angle which is preferably less than the angle between the sides of the forming plate, the upstanding material is forced inwardly toward the curve of the corner of the forming plate and the material is caused to gather into a number of small folds or pleats as shown in Fig. 4, which pleats are uniform in appearance. The corner wiper is moved inwardly to such an extent that the bottom or apex of the notch is disposed completely beyond or within the folded over margin as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The forming plates are then retracted from the position shown in Fig. 5 to a position shown in Fig. 6 and the presser head is raised above the cover. The work-supporting table is then forced upwardly by mechanism not shown to press the folded-over material at the corner forcibly against the flat bottom face of the corner wiper, thus pressing the pleats or folds firmly against each other and against the top face of the cover blank, or thelining blank, and into firm engagement with the adhesive thereon so that when the cover is removed from the folding elements the surplus material at the corner will be gathered into uniform pleats or folds which will lie snugly against each other and against the body of the book cover and appear approximately as shown in Fig. 8.

After pressure has been maintained on the folded over margin of the cover for a sufiicient period of time, the table is moved downwardly by the presser to relieve the pressure and cause the folded cover to be moved downwardly clear of the wipers. The corner wipers and the side wipers are then retracted and the table is moved upwardly by the springs 16 to elevate the completely folded book cover above the level of the wipers and into a position from which the book cover can readily be withdrawn.

1 claim:

1. A wiper for folding over the material at the round corner of a book cover, said wiper having a V-shaped notch in its material-engaging face, in which notch the cover material at the corner of the cover is received and gathered as the wiper is moved forwardly over the corner, the side walls of the notch being divergent and subtending an angle straight sides of the cover at the corner, and said side walls being progressively engageable with the cover material as the wiper is moved forwardly and acting to force the material from the sides progressively inwardly toward the medial line of the corner.

2. A wiper for folding over the material at the round corner of a book cover, said wiper having a V-shaped notch in its material-engaging face, in which notch the cover material at the corner of the cover is received and gathered as the wiper is moved forward- 1y over the corner, the side walls of the notch being divergent and subtending an angle that is less than the angle subtended by the straight sides of the cover at the corner, and said side walls being progressively engageable with the cover material as the wiper is moved forwardly and acting to force the material from the sides progressively inwardly toward the medial line of the corner, the side walls for the wiper at the notched portion thereof and above the lower edges of the notch and in the upper face of the wiper being inclined rearwardly and upwardly away from the lower edges to provide room in which the upstanding material at the cor ner of the cover can lie during the folding operation.

3. A wiper for folding over the material at the round corner of a book cover, said wiper having a V-shaped notch in its material-engaging face, in which notch the cover material at the corner of the cover is received and gathered as the wiper is moved forwardly over the corner, the wiper also having a flat smooth bottom face against which the gathered and folded-over material at the corner is adapted to be pressed when the wiper overlies the corner of the cover, the side walls of the wiper at the notched portion thereof and above the lower edges of the notch and in the upper face of the wiper being inclined rearwardly and upwardly away from the lower edges to provide room in which the upstanding material at the corner of the cover can lie during the folding operation, the side walls at the bottom of the notch subtending an angle between them that is less than the angle between the straight sides of the cover at the round corner so that the material at the corner is progressively wiped over from the sides inwardly toward the medial line of the round corner.

4. A wiper formed for folding over the material at and forming the round corner of a book cover, said wiper having a. generally V-shaped notch in its material engaging face in which the loose material at the round corner of the cover received is adapted to be gathered, the side walls of the notch subtending an angle between them which is less than the angle subtended between the sides of the book cover at the round corner and progresthat is less than the angle subtended by the sively engaging and folding-over the corner material from the sides inwardly toward the middle, the Wiper having a flat smooth bottom face at and in the rear of said notch against Which the gathered and folded materialat the round corner is adapted to be pressed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH W. ANTHONY. 

